Taken Away by My Brooding Adoptive Father

Su Ting is the cold and ruthless president of Feihe Real Estate in Jin City, a man who has built an impenetrable emotional fortress following a devastating betrayal by his former lover, Gu Jianqing, five years prior. Haunted by scandalous photos and financial ruin caused by Gu Jianqing, Su Ting isolates himself from society, maintaining only a professional distance from his loyal assistant, Zhou Xubai. His life is further complicated by the persistent romantic advances of Wen Yanyu, the son of a powerful political family, whose proposals Su Ting deflects with calculated indifference. The narrative shifts when Su Ting and Zhou Xubai encounter a young boy, Ye Xiuming, attempting suicide by breaking through the ice of a river in the dead of winter. The boy, emaciated and shivering, claims he was abandoned by his parents and seeks death to escape his suffering. Despite his initial reluctance to engage with trouble, Su Ting rescues the child, driven by a latent, unacknowledged desire to protect life after years of emotional numbness.

Su Ting decides to adopt Ye Xiuming, partly to use the child as a shield against Wen Yanyu’s persistent courtship, claiming the boy is his illegitimate son to deter the pursuer. After completing the legal adoption procedures, Su Ting brings the eleven-year-old into his luxurious, sterile home. The dynamic between them is immediately strained; Ye Xiuming is wary, cynical, and sharp-tongued, having learned to survive through manipulation and performance, while Su Ting is rigid, emotionally unavailable, and obsessed with order and etiquette. Su Ting hires a strict manners teacher, Shi Fangyi, to civilize the boy, but the arrangement quickly deteriorates when Shi Fangyi reveals himself to be a hypocrite with malicious intentions toward Su Ting, referencing scandalous photos from Su Ting’s past. Su Ting violently confronts Shi Fangyi, revealing a dangerous and ruthless side that terrifies Ye Xiuming, who witnesses the assault from a distance and flees in fear.

As weeks pass, a fragile bond begins to form between the two. Su Ting, despite his cold exterior, shows subtle signs of care, such as ensuring Ye Xiuming is fed well and protecting him from school bullies. Ye Xiuming, in turn, begins to observe Su Ting’s vulnerabilities, noting his insomnia and the pain he harbors from his past. The boy’s true identity remains a mystery; he hides his background, suspecting that revealing it might lead to abandonment again. Meanwhile, Su Ting investigates Ye Xiuming’s origins, discovering that the boy’s name may be an alias, which deepens his suspicion and protectiveness. The relationship is further tested by the reappearance of Fu Xici, a former acquaintance who knows the truth about Su Ting’s scandal and harbors unrequited feelings for him, creating tension in their domestic life.

The story reaches a turning point when Wen Yanyu unexpectedly visits Su Ting’s home, leading to a confrontation where Ye Xiuming pretends to have a medical episode to avoid revealing his true identity to Wen, who recognizes him from childhood. Through this encounter, it is hinted that Ye Xiuming comes from a powerful family involved in political turmoil, and his abandonment was likely a strategic decision due to impending danger. Su Ting, unaware of the full extent of Ye Xiuming’s background, continues to navigate his new role as a father, balancing his business empire with the demands of raising a child who is far more perceptive and complex than he appears. The narrative concludes with Su Ting establishing himself as a protector at Ye Xiuming’s school, donating a building in the boy’s name, signaling a shift from reluctant guardian to invested father, while Ye Xiuming begins to trust that he has found a permanent home.